As fresh and light as late summer, this *no cheese* pizza is as delicious fresh from the over as it is an hour later as a room temperature snack. Subtle differences and seasonal simplicity are the key to its surprising charm: 1) it’s made with puff pastry instead of pizza dough 2) the base is a thin smear of sour cream and grainy mustard, not a sauce or pesto and 3) the tomatoes are roasted on top. The finish is freshly minced thyme, cooked inside and sprinkled on top, refreshingly different than the usual basil. I recommend freshly cracked black pepper for heat but red pepper a-OK if you prefer it. Easy to make. I make them 2 at a time and never have leftovers. Serves 6 as a main course, 12-15 as small plate or appetizer.

A word about tomatoes: Choose wisely. This tart is only as good as the tomatoes. Grow and pick your own heirloom or beefsteak tomatoes at vine ripeness or choose from a trusted farmer’s market. Once tomatoes have been refrigerated to hold and transport to market they are significantly reduced in quality. Off season tomatoes are not recommended at all for this.

I use convenient puff pastry from the refrigerator section of the grocery. It rolls out ready on a parchment sheet. Many brands are available but I use Wewalka, shown here: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Spread the puff pastry on a cookie sheet. Use your fingers to spread the sour cream and mustard base on the pastry. Leave a !/4 inch border. Top with thinly sliced tomatoes overlapping only slightly. Roast until pastry is golden brown and tomatoes look shriveled and dry, approximately 35 minutes. Peek underneath to check that the pastry is fully cooked at center, this can be tricky. Let cool slightly before cutting into squares. top with freshly minced thyme, salt and pepper.

Lovely at breakfast, we recommend it with poached eggs and fresh fruit. At brunch or dinner I also serve a side of Sweet Pickled Jalapeno Peppers, a crowd pleasing topping.

*If ceremony is performed at the beach there is no limit to number of guests, but the number of non-registered guests on the inn’s property is limited to a maximum of 4 for the ceremony and reception period only. If more will attend at YMBB they must book rooms (see “We Host Small Weddings!”). Non-registered guests must park off-site please.

The Monarch Butterfly! Our garden at YMBB has been attracting these beauties for nearly 30 years during their migration along the lakefront. Sadly though, this elegant creature has been disappearing because of the destruction of habitat along the migration route. Decades ago we enjoyed visits from thousands upon thousands of them, now we are overjoyed when we see but a few. Happily, in more recent years, their numbers are increasing! Why? Because many dedicated people are planting a portion of their property with MILKWEED!

Common Milkweed is the singular food of The Monarch butterfly. It is also a valuable food source for many other insects and bees.

Each autumn I collect the seeds from my own milkweed and mail them out to anyone and everyone who wants to start a milkweed patch. Here is the info sent with the packets:

DIY: A Milkweed Tutorial

If you want seeds I will mail them to you. Simply send me an email to elaine@yeltonmanor.com asking for milkweed seeds, send me your name and full mailing address. Here’s the info:

Enclosed are your milkweed seeds from my garden. Thank you for being a participant in the support of The Monarch Butterfly. Milkweed is the singular food of The Monarch, and also food to many other nectar seeking birds and insects including hummingbirds and bees. The plant is tall and NOT unattractive, with huge snowball shaped balls of extremely fragrant flower clusters in summer. Most happily, you will enjoy ringing the dinner bell for the life cycle of The Monarch butterfly. Read about it here: http://www.mymonarchguide.com/2007/05/raising-caterpillars.html

To plant your milkweed seeds, prepare a garden bed in good sunlight with light soil and excellent drainage. Seeds like a period of 70 degrees to successfully germinate, with light watering every morning for a week or two. Thin out the bed as needed for growth. Then just let them grow on their own. Learn more here: http://www.monarchwatch.org/milkweed/prop.htm

As for propagating/transplanting existing milkweed, it’s not complicated, just has to be done the right way . Milkweed is tap-rooted. Anything tap-rooted is hard to transplant because you have to get ALL of the taproot. These tap roots can go as deep as 2′ into the ground.

As I read on this forum: “I would wait until you have some seedlings coming up around the mother plants and dig those, get them while they are small and move them. The larger ones just die away, or wait until you have seed pods and scatter the seed where you want them. They’ll come up next year in the location you want them to be in.” And then this cool idea:

Milkweed is not a dangerous plant, per se, to grow and handle. But there are some precautions. Be wary if you have latex sensibilities. Also, the sap can cause itchy irritation to skin and burning to eyes if rubbed into them, so be cautious. See further cautions here:

If you have a huge success your first year of growing, it’s possible the caterpillars will destroy your crop! Hooray, it’s perennial and will come back bigger and better. Keep pruning and it will keep throwing out new shoots. Enjoy the fine dining of the beautiful caterpillars and just wait for the arrival of the butterflies!

Collect seeds of your own to pay it forward; let’s give The Monarchs ever-expanding habitat! We’ve come so close to losing them, but they are returning!!! Read about how and when to collect, dry and save seeds (this is my favorite site because of the photos:

The Yelton Manor B&B herb garden is having a glorious harvest time! I am cooking, freezing, drying, making pesto AND using them decoratively.

In the late season when the herb garden is bursting at the seams with beautiful, fragrant foliage, I like to make indoor cuttings in vases and bowls.

I use both curly and flat parsley, rosemary, variegated thyme, purple and tri-color sage, variegated basil, rue, nasturtiums, maybe a flower or two. Always lovely, and they last for a full 4-6 days in a vase! Try it yourself!